Over 700 Refugees Freed in Israel
KABUL: (Middle East Press) Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the release of more than 700 illegal migrants or refugees held for more than a year at a detention center in the Negev desert.
Around 750 people have been released on Tuesday in small groups with 428 scheduled to be freed on Wednesday, the prison service spokeswoman said.
But those freed were left with few options, after being barred from two cities.
Inside Story: Migrants or refugees?
Detainees leaving the facility waited at bus stops for rides and wondered where they would live after being banned from Tel Aviv and Eilat, in the face of hostility from many residents, the AFP news agency reported.
As in other parts of the world, immigration has become a high-profile issue in Israel, with right-wing politicians calling for action to limit it and activists urging the government to accept people from countries such as Eritrea.
“We don’t know where to go, where we’re going to sleep tonight,” said Salah, a 33-year-old Sudanese man who has been in Israel for nine years, including 20 months at the detention center.
Nissan Ben Hamo, the mayor of Arad near the Dead Sea, said on Facebook that he would call on residents to “defend their city” if it became necessary.
He ordered staff and local police to deploy to the entrance of the city to block the freed migrants from entering.
The Supreme Court two weeks ago overturned a provision of a law that would have allowed “illegal migrants” to be held for up to 20 months without trial.
It ruled that “illegal migrants” held for more than a year should be released within two weeks.
